- A big surprise
- Exemplary efficiency
- So, what’s the secret sauce?
- An accepted wisdom bites the dust
- Charging is not quite as impressive
- Efficiency, not huge batteries, is the future of EVs
- The rest of the G80 isn’t half bad either
A big surprise
Cutting quickly to the chase, the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 — stupid name, great car — drove an exceptional 412 kilometres on a single charge. That, if you’re an avid reader of Range Finder, means that the Genesis is virtually tied with BMW’s iX M60 for the longest range in our testing, which I’ll remind you sees us setting the cruise control at a buck-twenty-five on Ontario’s hilly Highway 407, running the battery until it has (almost) no unspoken-for electrons.
But while that extended range was somewhat unexpected, it is not really surprising — nor should it be be a shock that a Genesis performed so well. Parent company Hyundai has been making inroads in all its battery-powered products: the Hyundai Ioniq 5, sister-ship Kia EV6, and the G80’s sibling in lithium-ions, Genesis’ GV60. But, again, that is not the big surprise.
No, what really got my attention — sufficiently so that I conducted two full battery discharge tests back-to-back — is that the G80 tied the BMW’s top mark with but 87.2 kilowatt-hours of battery built into its floor. The big iX, I’ll remind you, needed 105.2 kWh to eke out the same mileage. In other words, the Genesis is some 20 per cent more efficient in the dispersal of its battery’s electrons that the BMW.
Exemplary efficiency
Genesis Electrified G80 Photo by Justin Pritchard
The Genesis G80 wrings out its range the good ole, fashioned way — efficiency. Indeed, Range Finder has long lamented EV engineers’ apparent lack of focus of on efficiency, the problem of range anxiety instead most often solved by simply adding more lithium beneath the floorpan. In fact, in all our previous testing, the energy efficiency of the electric vehicles has fallen into a fairly narrow and predictable range of between about 24 and a 29 kWh, the difference simply the size and shape of the vehicle being tested. That smaller cars — VW’s ID.4 with an average consumption of 23.7 kWh — were more efficient than large vehicles such as Tesla’s Model S and the Ford Mach-E was mostly a matter of smaller footprints.
Do the math with the G80, however, and the numbers come out to 21.2 kWh, almost 10 per cent better than even the tiny VeeDub and leaving stalwarts such as Porsche’s Taycan — previously the trend-setter for efficiency amongst sedans — behind.
And before the Elon worshippers write in that their Tesla Whatever can beat the figure, note that:
- a) Range Finder tests are, again, all conducted at 125 km/h on Ontario’s surprisingly hilly Highway 407.
- b) We’ve tested Teslas previously, and they’ve not matched the Genesis’ efficiency.
So, what’s the secret sauce?
Genesis Electrified G80 Photo by Justin Pritchard
Quite how the G80 trounces the competition is a bit of a mystery. For instance, it uses the same 800-volt architecture and basic battery chemistry as the company’s own GV60 (which, in turn, is basically a Hyundai Ioniq 5 in full SUV guise), yet remains almost 20 per cent more frugal with its lithium ions.
So, why is this Genesis so much more efficient? Two possibilities come to mind.
The first is aerodynamics: namely that, the GV60 and sister-ship Ioniq 5 are as blocky as SUV-imitating crossovers get, while the G80 is all wind-cheating slipperiness. In AJAC’s most recent EcoRun — a relatively low-speed test — Kia’s lighter-weight EV6 eked out a narrow edge over the G80 — 15.6 kWh for the smaller Kia versus 15.8 kWh for the larger Genesis. But, Range Finder’s testing — again, 125 km/h on Ontario’s high-speed 407 — emphasizes slipperiness. For two vehicles supposedly using roughly similar powertrains, aerodynamics likely have a lot to do with the spread between the SUVs’ energy consumption and the sedan’s on the highway.
The other possibility — one that is not very appealing, I’d say, for the EV owners in Canada— is that the G80 just happened to be tested in perfect conditions. Everyone knows that sub-zero temperatures — so frequent here in the Great White Frozen North — are anathema to efficient EV operation. But, according to Geotab.com, so are higher temperatures. Indeed, according to their easy-to-use range estimator, the ideal temperature for maximizing range is 21ºC, and the difference in range for the same EV could be as much as 10 per cent if the temperature were 20ºC (the G80 test) or the 31ºC (the heat in our GV60 drive). In other words, if Geotab is to be believed, more than half of the G80’s advantage could have been the result of more favourable climatic conditions. If true, it shows how distressingly dependent electric vehicles may be on driving conditions in their quest for efficiency.
For the record, Range Finder performs all its tests on the same road in the same conditions, i.e. not in the middle of snowstorms or thundershowers. Unfortunately, there’s no realistic way to control for temperature. However, one final note also worth noting is that Car & Driver recorded a 450-kilometre range in its 75 mph (120 km/h) test which, accounting for the speed difference and perhaps a flatter road, speaks to the G80 boasting exemplary highway efficiency no matter what the speed or weather conditions.
An accepted wisdom bites the dust
2023 Genesis Electrified G80 Photo by David Booth
One truism the electric vehicle industry has long preached is that only a dedicated-to-battery platform can truly maximize EV efficiency and range. That theory pretty much bites the dust with the Electrified G80 — that name gets more awkward the more you say it — because it is built on the exact same platform as gas-powered G80s with internal-combustion engines.
Indeed, if the engineering wisdom that claims that a skateboard platform — the official designation for chassis that lack a traditional engine compartment because their batteries built into their subfloor — actually does hold any water, had Genesis not compromised the G80’s frame to fit the four-banger and V6 ICEs, the company might have been able to fit even more battery beneath the seats. A few slashes of the calculator keyboard says that if a dedicated chassis had been able to increase battery capacity by around 18 per cent, the G80 might have been the first EV to eke 500 kilometres on a single charge in our 125 km/h test.
Charging is not quite as impressive
2023 Genesis Electrified G80 Photo by David Booth
Hyundai Motor Corp makes much of the fact that charging its 800V batteries is optimized by using 350-kilowatt chargers. That should in no way, however, be misconstrued as them actually charging at 350 kW.
The company’s official charging claim, for instance, is that the G80 required just 22 minutes to recharge its battery from a 10 per cent state-of-charge to 80 per cent. That, just so we’re on the same page, is meant to sound impressive. Do a little digging and, as they say, not so much. For one thing, even when hooked up to the aforementioned 350-kW charger, the G80 actually peaks at 189-kW. Porche’s Taycan, by way of comparison, can hit as much as 270-kW on a willing charger.
More importantly, do the math and that 70 per cent (61 kW) of total battery capacity in 22 minutes works out to an average 166 kW. Not bad, but significantly shy of the 350-kW numbers being bandied about. It’s also worth noting that on a 100-kW (semi) fast charger, the G80 peaks out at just 66-kW and drops to a measly 33-kW when you pass that 80 per cent mark. Despite the fantastical claims of manufacturers and proponents alike, we’re a long way from a truly ‘fast-charging’ electric vehicle.
Efficiency, not huge batteries, is the future of EVs
2023 Genesis Electrified G80 Photo by David Booth
Despite the fact that its charging is not as quick as it could be, I think the G80 points to the electric vehicle’s future. So far, the cure to range anxiety has been to simply throw more lithium-ions into the subfloor. Thus do we have a 105.2-kWh BMW iX, 180-kWh Rivians, and of course the 212.7 kilowatt hours that energize GMC’s Hummer (whose battery, by the way, weighs more than a Hyundai Kona). And yes, they will all get decent range (though not if you’re towing, says Car & Driver). But because of their huge batteries, they’re going to take an eon to refill — even on the quickest of fast chargers.
Juicing up just 87.2 kWh, assuming Hyundai and Genesis get their charging houses in order, will always be quicker. A 400-km luxury sedan that can — in the future, let’s hope — take a full charge in 10 or 12 minutes will make be a better grand tourer than some behemoth of an SUV that requires twice as long to get its battery back. Indeed, the G80’s performance is intriguing enough that I’m going to look into getting the G80 back to see how it fares in the cold of a Canadian winter.
The rest of the G80 isn’t half bad either
Genesis’ G80 is, at a glance, attractive if a little staid, its conservatism typical of a neophyte luxury marque still finding its footing. The interior, however, is pure hedonism. The quality of the leather is most excellent; ditto to wood veneering and some of the polished and knurled aluminum bits. The 1,050-watt Lexicon audio system is more than pleasing, and Genesis’ infotainment system wonderfully simple. The G80’s handling may not be quite BMW steady, but it’s at least on par with the equivalent Mercedes or Audi. Some might make note that there are only 365 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque on board, a number not in keeping with the truly outrageous — that should be read completely unnecessary — numbers claimed by competing EVs. On the other hand, it will scoot to 100 kilometres an hour in under five seconds, a feat that would have thrilled any prospective luxury sedan shopper just a few short years ago. Indeed, my only complaint is that there’s more wind noise at highway speeds than is typical in this segment.
The last question mark, then, is pricing. Genesis Canada just announced that the G80 will cost $105,000 in beleaguered Canbucks. That would seem expensive compared with electrified SUVs including Genesis’ own GV60, but viewed side-by-side with Audi’s $139,950 e-tron GT, that MSRP seems more competitive.
In the end, I suspect the G80’s price effectiveness comes down to how you shop. If you judge price competitiveness by weight — i.e. how big a battery you get for the money — there are better buys than the G80. If, on the other hand, you’re look at how far you can actually ‘range’ in real-world driving — those 412 kilometres we attained — then the G80 looks like pretty good value.
Whatever you decide, the G80 is my EV of the year… so far. If its impressive efficiency is real and repeatable, it may be an antidote to the industry’s quest for ever bigger — and more expensive — batteries.
Keyword: Range Finder: 2023 Genesis Electrified G80